Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Tuesday questioned tentative plans to pass a narrow bill to stop family separations at the border, and kept to his stance that President Trump should solve that problem on his own, without waiting for Congress.
“Look, I’m always glad when people are talking,” Schumer said. “But the president and the administration can solve this problem on their own. That’s the quickest, best and easiest way to solve it.”
“That ought to be the first step here,” Schumer said of possible administrative actions. “I’m glad people are talking. They should continue to talk, but that’s the way to solve it.”
Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are talking about a possible narrow bill to fix the family separation problem, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that bill could move fast and possibly be voice voted out of the Senate later this week.
The group of four senators met Monday in Durbin’s office in the Capitol to negotiate a possible compromise package. Cruz told reporters that the group is in the process of scheduling a briefing with the federal agencies involved with handling families at the border. He also remains skeptical that Senate Democrats will be able to strike a deal.
“What is not yet clear is whether Senate Democrats are willing to work cooperatively on legislation that reflects those principles,” Cruz said, referring to language to keep families intact at the border while enforcing the law.
